A POINT TO PONDER: The waste of it all: Goodbye, Aaron Hernandez

The tragedy we have witnessed as a state with the story of Aaron Hernandez is a tale Shakespeare couldn’t have engineered.

The youngster from Bristol was the athlete from another planet. He was the best in his city, the best in his state and was sure to be one of the best in the country.

By the time he was 21, he had offers of wealth and contracts with major sports enterprises; just his 2012 contract extension with the New England Patriots gave him $52.5 million. By almost any measure, he was a star.

Then he was accused and found guilty of murder.

The story unfolded as a true dramatic tragedy and held most of us in a state of disbelief; it was as if we were watching a bad movie.

Aaron was sent to prison for life.

The millions of dollars in contracts, gone.

The future fame, gone. The good life, gone.

The sadness of it all was palatable.

Mr. Hernandez was tried on a double-murder charge and found not guilty; he fought back tears at the verdict and was sent back to prison to live his life as a convicted felon at age 27.

We all felt the sadness all over again.

Then the report came to us from his prison: Aaron had taken his life, he committed suicide, and the sense of the ultimate waste of this young man’s life hit our reality very hard.

What a terrible waste.

May God receive him and grant him the grace of his kingdom; God’s forgiveness and grace be with Aaron Hernandez.

A point to ponder.

Phil Mikan is the host of the Phil Mikan Show on WMRD 1150/WLIS AM 1420 daily at 10 a.m. and the Weekend Corner Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. You can reach him at phil@philmikan.com or write to him at Phil Mikan, Central Connecticut Communications, One Court Street, New Britain, CT 06051.